Would NFL's 'franchise' label work in pro basketball? NBA Insider

View full sizeAP photoAlthough nothing has been proposed officially, it seems reasonable that NBA owners will at least suggest a "franchise player" designation in the next labor agreement that would make it easier for teams such as Denver to keep stars such as Carmelo Anthony.

But is there any chance the NBA would follow the lead of the NFL and create a franchise tag in an effort to keep stars from leaving their teams in the lurch, like LeBron James did and Carmelo Anthony could?

Right now, the notion is strictly a media creation.

"We haven't heard it from David Stern or the owners yet," said Anthony Parker, the Cavaliers' players association representative. "So we don't even know if that's in the plans.

"Obviously, giving the players more freedom to test markets and things like that is in the players' favor."

Yeah, they'd hate it -- even though it guarantees a big payday.

As constituted in the NFL collective bargaining agreement -- which is being renegotiated -- there are two types of franchise tags that can be applied to an unrestricted free agent. An exclusive tag prevents the player from negotiating with any other team, but guarantees a one-year contract at a salary of the average of the top five salaried players at his position or at a salary at least 120 percent of his previous year's salary, whichever is higher.

A non-exclusive tag allows the player to negotiate with other teams, but gives his original team a chance to match any offer or receive compensation if the player leaves.

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"The franchise tag is going to be something I'm sure some of the owners will bring up," NBA TV/TNT analyst Kevin McHale said during a recent conference call. "They're going to have to try to get the players association to buy into that. That is an interesting concept. There is something to that. It would give the team that drafted the guy, developed the guy more of an opportunity to hold onto the player."

TNT analyst Reggie Miller also was on the call. He spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers, passing up chances to go elsewhere. He admitted that he often tried to recruit players to join him.

"I always feel that it's almost like the [movie] "Field of Dreams" -- if you build it, they will come," Miller said. "If you win, it doesn't matter if you're in a big market or small market. If you're competing at a high level and you're able to play with the New Yorks, the Chicagos or the L.A.s, I think you can get talent. ... I always believed if you're competing at a high level and you're winning it doesn't matter where you are, players want to come play."

But that wasn't the case in Cleveland, and it may not be the case in Denver. Nobody won more than the Cavaliers the past two seasons but it wasn't enough to keep James close to home. According to the expiring collective bargaining agreement, James was free to go and there was nothing the Cavs could do about it.

That's the reason the Nuggets are entertaining trade offers from Anthony now. They know he can leave as a free agent, and they'll be in the same position the Cavs were last summer.

"I think what's made it interesting in the league is that you've got guys like Deron Williams, like LeBron and like Carmelo, who have signed that first max contract and shortened it by not going the full five years," TNT analyst and former Phoenix GM Steve Kerr said during the call. "As a result ... they've already made huge money and now they have an opportunity to go wherever they want without really having to lock in on a long-term deal to make sure they're taking care of their future because they've already got that.

"In the past, it was too difficult for guys to pass up a chance at a huge contract so they'd usually lock up with their hometown team. Now you're seeing this trend where guys already have a bunch of money in the bank and now they're saying, "Hey I get to go wherever I want."

McHale, Miller and Kerr said keeping superstars in small markets was good for the league. Miller cited the fact that the Super Bowl between small markets Green Bay and Pittsburgh was the most-watched of all time.

"I hope these guys take a good long hard look in the mirror and understand. ... I hope it's not the death of these small-market teams because we need superstars in these small markets to survive," Miller said.

But when asked if adopting the franchise tag would be the only way to keep players with original teams, Miller admitted, "That's going to be tough to place. It's tough to do that."

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